The most common and simple device for determining the sensitivity of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs is the Petri dish, RU 69066 U1.
The Petri dish is a small-size shallow cylindrical vessel made from plastic, glass or ceramics. However, in determining the sensitivity of microorganisms to various antimicrobial drugs one has to use a rather large number of Petri dishes corresponding to the number of the drugs, which creates inconvenience and overloads the desktop.
Petri dish RU 127749 U1 containing an insert in the form of a cone, divided into two or more through sectors by vertical partitions, is known from the prior art. The device is designed for comparative evaluation of nutrient media in bacteriological diagnosis. Different by composition nutrient media are poured into the insertion sectors. The microorganism being tested is seeded into each of the media. The device can also be used for determining the sensitivity of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs. In this case, the same medium is used, but different antimicrobial drugs are put into the insertion sectors.
The disadvantage of this technical solution is the limited ability to divide the insert into sectors, as the increase in their number (practically, over three) leads either to an unacceptably small volume of each sector, or to a significant increase in the diameter of the Petri dish.
The device for determining the sensitivity of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs configured in the form of a sterile plate made from a plastic material. The board has recesses for introduction of the nutrient medium, the antimicrobial agent and the microorganism being tested for sensitivity to these substances in the laboratory conditions therein. From the top side, the sterile board is closed by a sealing element, US 2008/0318268 A1.
This technical solution is taken as a prototype of the present invention.
In the original (factory) state, the indentations in the board are empty. After removing the protective film in the laboratory, a medium and the antimicrobial agents are put in them, and the microorganisms are seeded. Their sensitivity to a particular drug is determined on the basis of the degree of microbiological growth.
The disadvantage of this technical solution is the fact that its use is associated with a considerable time consumption and inconvenience in the laboratory conditions, associated with the placement of the nutrient medium in the indentations and putting of various antimicrobial drugs into various indentations with the medium at the site where the works to determine the susceptibility of microorganisms to antimicrobial drugs are executed.